Inglorious, of his mortal sting disarm’d.
I through the ample air in triumph high
Shall lead Hell captive maugre Hell, and show 255
The Pow'rs of darkness bound. Thou at the fight
Pleas’d, out of Heaven shalt look down and smile,
While by thee rais'd I ruin all my foes,
Death last, and with his carcass glut the grave:
Then with the multitude of my redeem'd 260
Shall enter Heav'n long absent, and return,
Father, to see thy face, wherein no cloud
Of
anger shall remain, but peace

affur'd And reconcilement; wrath shall be no more Thenceforth, but in thy presence joy entire. 265

His words here ended, but his meek aspect Şilent yet spake, and breath'd immortal love

To it by a witticism of the same kind openly, triumphing over them in it, in Seneca, who speaking of the Col. II. 15. terror Pluto was in from the wound 259. Death laft,] According to he received from Hercules, says, St. Paul, The last enemy that shall be Herc. Fur. ver. 568.

destroy'd is Death, 1 Cor. XV. 26.

266. His words here ended, but Effugit tenui vulnere faucius,

bis meek afpéat Et mortis dominus pertimuit mori.

Thyer.

Silent yet pake, &c.] What a

charming and lovely picture has 254. I through the ample air in Milton given us of God the Son

triumph bigh &c.] Thou haft confider'd as our Saviour and Reascended on high, thou haft led capti- deemer? not in the least inferior vity captive, Pfal. LXVIII. 18. in its way to that grander one in And having spoiled Principalities and the 6th book, where he describes Powers, be made a show of them him clothed with majesty and ter.

ror,

Y 3

To mortal men, above which only shone
Filial obedience: as a sacrifice
Glad to be offer'd, he attends the will

270
Of his great Father. Admiration seis'd
All Heav'n, what this might mean, and whither tend
Wond’ring; but soon th' Almighty thus reply'd.

O thou in Heav'n and Earth the only peace Found out for mankind under wrath, O thou 275 My sole complacence! well thou know'st how dear To me are all my works, nor Man the least, Though last created; that for him I spare Thee from my bosom and right hand, to save, By losing thee awhile, the whole race loft. 280 Thou therefore, whom thou only canst redeem, Their nature also to thy nature join;

And ror, taking vengeance of his ene- good and benevolent being. The mies

Before he, represents him mute eloquence, which our author fpeaking, he makes divine compas- has so prettily express'd in his filent fion, love without end, and grace yet spake, is with no less beauty dewithout measure visibly to appear in scribed by Tasso at the end of As. bis face: ver. 140. and carrying on mida's speech to Godfrey. Cant. 4. the same amiable picture, makes St. 65. him end it with a countenance

Ciò detto tace, e la risposta atbreathing immortal love to mortal

tende men, Nothing could be better con

Con atto, che'n filentio hà voce, triv'd to leave a deep impresion

e preghi. upon the reader's mind, and I believe one may venture to assert, 269. —as a facrifice &c. ) An that no art or words could lift the allusion to Psal. XL. 6. and the imagination to a ftronger idea of a following verses, Sacrifice and of

Thyer.

And be thyself Man among men on earth,
Made flesh, when time shall be, of virgin seed,
By wondrous birth: be thou in Adam's room 285
The head of all mankind, though Adam's son.
As in him perilh all men, so in thee,
As from a second root, shall be restor'd
As many as are restor'd, without thee none.
His crime makes guilty all his fons; thy merit 290
Imputed shall absolve them who renounce
Their own both righteous and unrighteous deeds,
And live in thee transplanted, and from thee
Receive new life. So Man, as is most just,
Shall satisfy for Man, be judg’d and die,

295
And dying rise, and rising with him raise
His brethren, ransom'd with his own dear life.

So fering thou didst not defire, mine ears And Antony to Trebonius, Jul. haft thou opened; burnt-offering and Cæs. Ac IIÍ. fin-offiring bast thou not required: Though last, not leeft in love. Then said I, L. I come ; in the volume of the book it is written of me:

whom thou only canft reo I delight to do thy will, O my God; deem, yea, thy law is within

beart. Their nature] That is, the nature

of them, whom thou only canst 277.

nor Man the least,] The redeem. A manner of speaking least dear, Though laft created; very usual with our author. somewhat like Shakespear's Lear to Cordelia, Ac I.

287. As in him perish all men, &c.]

For as in Adom all die, even so in Now our jos,

Chrifi Mall all be made alive, i Cor.
Although our lali, noi leaf.

XV. 22.
Y 4

299. Giving

281.

ту.

So heav'nly love shall outdo hellish hate,
Giving to death, and dying to redeem,
So dearly to redeem what hellish hate

300
So easily destroy'd, and still destroys
In those who, when they may, accept not grace.
Nor shalt thou, by descending to assume
Man’s náture, lessen or degrade thine own.
Because thou hast, though thron'd in highest bliss
Equal to God, and equally enjoying
God-like fruition, quitted all to save
A world from utter loss, and haft been found
By merit more than birthright Son of God,
Found worthiest to be so by being good, 310

Far

306

299. Giving to death, and dying “ demption) is wanting. But to to redeem,] The love of the "

pay a price implying a volunFather in giving the Son to death, “ tary act, the poet therefore well and the love of the Son in sub “ expresses it by giving to death mitting to it and dying to redeem“ that is giving himself to death; mankind. Mr. Warburton thus “ so that the sense of the line fully explains it. “ Milton's system of “ expresses Milton's notion, Hea"* divinity taught, says he, not“ venly love gave a price for the re“ only that Man was redeemed, “ demption of mankind, and by vir. “ but likewise that a real price “ tue of that price really redeemed “ was paid for his redemption; “ them."

dying to redeem therefore signify 301. and fill destroys ) Dr. “ ing only redemption in a vague Bentley objects to fill deffroys, that “ uncertain sense, but imperfectly this speech is before Adam's fall,

represents his system ; so im- and therefore he thinks that Mil.

perfectly that it may as well be ton gave it and will destroy. But “ called the Socinian ; the price there are many passages in these paid (which implies a proper re- speeches of God and Meffiab,

where

Far more than great or high; because in thee
Love hath abounded more than glory' abounds,
Therefore thy humiliation shall exalt
With thee thy manhood also to this throne;
Here shalt thou sit incarnate, here shalt reign 315
Both God and Man, Son both of God and Man,
Anointed universal king; all power
I give thee; reign for ever, and assume
Thy merits; under thee as head supreme
Thrones, Princedoms, Pow'rs, Dominions I reduce:
All knees to thee shall bow, of them that bide

321 In Heav'n, or Earth, or under Earth in Hell. When thou attended gloriously from Heaven

Shalt

all power

where the fall is spoken of as a notice as an instance of Milton's thing past; perhaps because all orthodoxy with relation to the dithings, even future ones, are pre. vinity of God the Son. sent to the divine Mind. Thus we

317 read in ver. 151.

I give thee;] Mat. XXVIII. 18.

All power is given unto me. Thy creature late fo lov'd:

318.

and assume and ver. 181.

Thy merits;] Imitated from Ho

race's Sume superbiam quæfitam methat he may know how frail

ritis, Od. III. XXX. 14. but adaptHis fallin condition is:

ed to the divine Person to whom And yet these two pallages, with it is spoken. others of the same kind, Dr. Bent 321. All knees to thee shall bow,&c.] ley has suffer'd to stand uncensur'd. That at the name of Jefus every knee

Pearce. Should bow, of things in Heaven, and 306. Equal to God, and equally en- things in Earth, and things under the joying

Earth, Philip. II. 10. God-like fruition,] This deserves

334. The